


The Shrink Treatment

by Some_Cookie_Crumbz



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, Not enough that I thought warranted bumping up the rating but I still wanted to mention it, There's some very minor violence and swearing in this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-12 15:33:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13550289
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Some_Cookie_Crumbz/pseuds/Some_Cookie_Crumbz
Summary: Request Fill that I got overly invested in. An experiment goes awry, leaving Keith in a strange situation and Pidge the one in charge of looking after him. Things go about as well as could be expected in a floating castle in the middle of deep space.





	1. Chapter 1

Keith eyed the concoction Coran had shoved into his hand with a skeptical raise of an eyebrow.

He had agreed to help Coran out with some testing in regards to antidotes and medications to be implemented by the team. While they’d all been given first aid and small emergency supply kits to keep stashed in spare compartments in their Lions, none of what they had would be particularly effective for serious injuries or ailments. The need for them to have higher grade medication had first been brought up after Shiro’s injury from Haggar, and the point had been driven home even further when Hunk had nearly lost his right hand after shrapnel from an exploding Galra ship caught his wrist. He had been thankfully fine after a trip in the healing pod - though he did admit to suffering from his pinky and ring fingers occasionally going numb or twitchy – but this had seemed to light a fire in Coran. He insisted that if he could develop some kind of oral or spray-type medication that could begin repairing the damage until further treatment could be given, Hunk wouldn’t have any discomfort with the limb, and that now he had to assure no other Paladin suffered such long term side effects.

Thus leading to Keith’s position, sitting on one of the exam tables in the sick bay, holding a strange liquid that was mostly yellow with specks of grey and pink sprinkled throughout. “And this is supposed to do… _What, exactly_?” He asked, swirling the contents around curiously. He managed to hide a shudder when whatever it was bubbled ominously at him in response.

“Well, it’s designed to heal damage from the inside,” Coran explained happily, heading over from the other side of the room with a clipboard, “or, rather, _start_ to heal it… Hopefully… The goal is that it should begin healing the internal effects to injuries, like mending broken bones and such. It’s mostly just a way to prevent any permanent nerve or muscle damage being caused, so basic medical treatment will still need to be administered to any wounds on the surface level. This little tonic should just assure that in a situation where your foot nearly gets severed from your leg, you’ll be able to heal with minimal to no long term side effects of the injury.”

Keith glanced down at his casted arm and hummed quietly. That certainly explained why Coran had insisted that he was the only one that could help him, as well as why he had pleaded for Keith to avoid the healing pods upon arrival.

“Well, I guess we’ll see how well this works, huh?” He asked before taking a deep breath and chugging the contents of the vial.

Coran watched him curiously for a few minutes, reaching up and twirling one of the ends of his moustache as he did, then tilted his head curiously. “Well? Feel anything?”

Keith shook his head and smacked his lips a bit. “I mean, other than a bitter after taste, not really,” He said with a shrug, shuffling off of the exam table to stand on his own two feet. He regretted it immediately when a wave of dizziness hit him, akin to the first few times after being in the simulator back at the Garrison. He rested his good hand against the table and shook his head again.

“Are you alright?” Coran fretted, coming closer and settling one hand on Keith’s back.

Keith swallowed to try and answer but his mouth felt suddenly dry. He then tried to nod but instead his head just wobbled in an odd circular motion. An odd sensation ran through him as if something was settled in his gut and was creeping from his belly and through his body, seeming to simultaneously chill him down while amplify the temperature of his blood to the point he swore he could feel it as it pumped through his veins. The dizziness became worse, the world becoming an odd blur of color and light, and he crumpled in on himself, one arm curling around his stomach while the other clutched at his head. He vaguely heard Coran calling out to him and rushing toward him before his consciousness slipped under an inky veil.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Pidge had been heading toward the hanger when she heard some kind of commotion starting up at the other end of the hallway. She spotted Hunk, looking concerned and uneasy, standing just inside the medical bay but halting in from of the curtain leading to Coran’s private research area. He’d designated the area as his own space with a sign posted – written in both Altean and English – on the door that read, in big, bold, blocky letters, “ **NO PIDGES OR HUNKS ALLOWED!!** ”, after the two had accidently botched up one of his experiments.

She had been expecting him to appreciate their help enough to forgive them for setting his moustache on fire. Some scientist he was.

“Hey, Hunk,” She said conversationally as she reached him, pausing when she heard unholy shrieking and Lance’s yowling coming from the other side of the curtain. She peered inside and blinked in confusion as she watched the shadow of her other teammate trying to placate a small form he was holding above his head that was thrashing about like a lunatic. “Um, what is _that_ all about?” She asked, pointing to the spectacle and looking back at Hunk.

“Well, we saw Coran rushing out of here all frazzled and frantic… And when we offered to help he told us to stay out and that he would handle it himself… But after he left Lance got curious and went to see what he was hiding and… Well, he hasn’t been hanging in very well,” Hunk said nervously.

“Then why don’t you go help him?” She suggested. Lance howled in outrage as whatever he was dealing with got a handful of his hair and started yanking for all it was worth.

Hunk looked scandalized before indicating the sign. “I have respect for boundaries, _thank you very much_ ,” He huffed indignantly.

“My diary and I would beg to differ,” She quipped back before grabbing the edge of the curtain and tugging it aside with one fluid motion. Standing before her was Lance, struggling to control what seemed to be…

“Keith?”

The small child suddenly jerked to attention, eyes large as he looked between the two newcomers in a mix of apprehension and a touch of fear. The child was wearing a simply red shirt and some long tan pants but the messy black hair and deep violet eyes were dead giveaways to his identity. His tiny fists were still clenched in Lance’s hair.

“Oh, thank God, _please_ get this _wild beast_ off of me!” Lance whined, giving him a tug to try and dislodge him. This only caused the fear in his eyes to spark brighter and he squawked in protest, pulling at brunette’s locks still clutched in his grasp. Given the situation, she deduced that it had to actually be Keith; it had to be, however, a younger Keith with no memory of who the other Paladins were given how he was behaving with Lance. Well, that or he just really didn’t want Lance picking him up, but that seem like it. Another quick glance at his frightened eyes was all it took for her to piece together the answer; not hard to figure out, when you paid as much attention as she tended to.

Pidge walked over and reached toward him, standing on her tiptoes to be a bit closer to where Lance had him. “Keith, come to me, okay?” She said, doing her best to make her voice sound softer and warmer than normal. She wasn’t sure exactly what was going on with Keith’s mind – though she could reason his mind had digressed to match with his current form – but she figured to try her hand at getting him over to her. She and Keith had spent a good amount of bonding so, regardless of how many memories he had of his time as a Paladin, she would most likely have a better chance at calming him down than Lance since she had a better idea of how to engage with him.

He stared at her for a moment before nearly tossing Lance’s head from his grip and reaching toward her. Lance handed him over eagerly while Keith latched on to her like a koala bear, his arms looping around her neck and legs squeezing around her stomach as best he could. She rested one arm under the bottoms of his thighs to offer more support while the other settled on his back, between his shoulder blades, to begin rubbing to further calm him down. A low groan called her attention back to the set of blazing blue eyes glowering down at the small tot in her arms. “What was _that_ all about?” He snapped, pointing an accusatory finger.

Keith shrunk a bit into her at the gesture, as if to hide, and she opted to keep the truth to herself. Why reveal a childhood fear of heights to Lance when he’d just use it for teasing later?

“He probably doesn’t like your face,” She said with an indifferent shrug.

Lance gasped and slapped a hand to his chest. “ _Excuse_ you! What is there to _dislike_ about _all of this magnificence_?” He protested, gesturing in a wide circle to his head with his other hand.

“Chin is too pointy,” Keith suddenly chimed up, his voice soft but defiant. He was wearing the scowl they’d all grown accustom to seeing on him in their time as a team; though it read more as a pout when paired with his chubby baby cheeks.

The older boy gaped before leaning down right into Keith’s face. “My chin is _not_ too pointy!” He snapped back, the skin of his cheeks darkening with a flush.

“ _Is too_!”

“ _Is not_!”

“Yeah _huh_!”

“Nuh _uh_!”

“Yeah huh _times ten_!”

“Nuh uh _times 100_!”

“Yeah huh _times infinity_!” Keith all but screamed back, one hand clutching at Pidge’s shoulder while the other had dropped to form a fist at his side. He looked ready to straight up deck Lance in the face, which seemed like an awful idea. Though she doubted that Lance would _actually_ hit Keith while he was a child – regardless of who threw first punch – she also didn’t think that getting up in his face and shouting was a good alternative. She glanced over Keith’s head at Hunk, then looked back at Lance quickly, and raised her eyebrows twice in quick succession.

Thankfully, her partner in tech crime seemed to understand the covert indications; he walked over and settled a hand on Lance’s shoulder. “Come on, dude, no need to get up in his face. He’s like, what, three?” He asked.

“I’m _three and a half_!” Keith protested loudly, but his words lisped a bit for the ‘three’ came out sounding more like ‘twee’. It was then that Pidge noticed that he was missing his front left tooth.

Hunk held his other hand up defensively. “Okay, sorry, my bad, buddy,” He said gently. Keith let out a small huff, satisfied with the response, and flopped back against Pidge to rest his head against her shoulder. With the other calmed down he turned his attention back to Lance. “So, like, did Coran explain what was happening, exactly?” He asked.

“Tch, _I wish_!” Lance squawked back, flailing his arms to help illustrate his frustration.

Pidge rolled her eyes at his theatrics and looked down at Keith again, whom was looking back up at her. “Do you remember why you’re here?” She asked gently. He answered by shaking his head. “Do you remember who we are?” She asked, motioning to herself and the boys.

“Not a lot… I know that I like you. You’re good and safe,” He said, shifting to lean toward her ear, “but I dunno about the other one. He’s super mean.” Despite clearly aiming for a whisper, it came out more like a slightly softer conversational tone. She laughed while Lance grumbled under his breath.

“Well, maybe if you were nicer to him, he wouldn’t think you were super mean,” She hummed back, a smug grin on her lips. Keith followed her statement up with a sentiment of his own in the form of a raspberry. Hunk tried to hide his snorts behind a hand but it didn’t work, given how Lance switched his glare from Tiny Keith to the other. She then shifted and indicated Hunk. “What about that one? Is he super mean or is he good too?”

Dark eyes shifted from her to Hunk, who was now smiling and waggling his fingers at them. “He’s weird… but I like him, too, so he’s good,” He said with a nod of finality.

Pidge opened her mouth to speak just as they heard voices approaching from down the hallway. “Coran, what’s going on, exactly? Allura and I have the conference call with the Multarian leaders to discuss their joining the coalition,” Shiro said, his voice a touch tired and annoyed.

The three other Paladins exchanged concerned looks as Coran entered, walking backwards so he could address and guide their leader to the incident in question. “Now, look, I don’t think it will be hard for me to find out where my miscalculation was, so I should be able to get him back to normal relatively quickly. And if Zarkon is feeling generous we won’t be dealing with the Galra until this whole thing has been reversed! We just have to keep everyone else from finding out!” He beamed, turning around just before running right into Hunk.

They all stared at one another for a moment. It was oddly enough Keith who broke the silence to announce, “I’m hungry.”

They marched to the dining hall in silence, with Lance being sent to get Allura along the way, and Hunk got a plate of food goo. They found a few old Altean tech manuals to help boost Keith up high enough to reach the table, as there were no booster seats still in decent repair. Shiro and Coran were settled on either side of Keith, Pidge across from him, Lance and Hunk to Pidge’s right and left respectively, and Allura was positioned between Lance and Shiro. She cleared her throat lightly and indicated the toddler prodding suspiciously at the green glop. “Now, Coran, would you mind enlightening us with how this occurred, exactly?” She asked gently.

“Of course, Princess. Well, I was working on a new oral medicine to help heal broken bones and other such injuries. And, since Keith had just broken his arm, he agreed to be my test subject,” He said, reaching over to ruffle the mop of dark locks beside him.

Keith scowled and tried to wretch his head away, scooting as far away from the chuckling man as he could, then resumed poking at his plate with more vigor. Shiro reached over and gently smoothed his hair back down. “Keith, don’t play with your food,” He said calmly before turning his attention back to Coran. Keith’s nose wrinkled in distaste and he stared at the small spoonful of goo in his hand. “Was this even a plausible side effect?”

The other laughed nervously and twiddled one end of his moustache in thought. “Well, it wasn’t on my short list… See, the goal of the medicine was to sort of return the afflicted area to a recent point in time where the damage had yet to occur to minimize the after effects. It would be a temporary solution – would only repair the damage so that there would be enough time to get them _proper_ treatment – but… Well, I certainly didn’t think _this_ was what would happen. Initially it seemed to just be nausea and dizziness, so I thought that maybe that he was going to get physically ill, but then he start _sweating_ and having trouble _breathing_ … And then when I was preparing to throw him into a healing pod to flush the medicine from his system he started to _shrink_! And… Well, then he became like _this_ ,” He explained, his fiddling shifting from his moustache to his fingers as he spoke.

Keith glanced up at the mention of his name, looking from everyone else on the table, and paused when he and Pidge locked eyes. He still hadn’t taken a single bite of his goo. “That stuffs actually pretty tasty, buddy,” She said gently, hoping to reassure him. He looked back down wearily, then back at her, before finally seeming to give it a try. After his first bite, a little grin turned up on his lips and he started eating eagerly.

Allura’s brow knit in concern and she sighed. “Well, this certainly is an issue. What if the Galra attack like this? Does he even have enough memories to properly pilot Red Lion? And even if he does, would he be able to reach the controls?” She fretted.

“In regards to memories,” Pidge chimed in, “he doesn’t remember specifics; just general opinions. He knows that he feels safe and secure with us on the Castle Ship, but doesn’t seem to know the exact circumstances for why. As for piloting Red… I’m not sure if he remembers the Lions at all. And I doubt that Red Lion would let him in her cockpit while he’s so much smaller and vulnerable.”

“So Voltron’s out of the question for a while. Well, I guess this just gives us more reason to focus on getting Keith back to normal,” Shiro said, glancing down at the small child beside him. He was watching them all curiously, still shoveling goo in his mouth, but still as attentive and alert as he’d ever been. A fond smile quirked up on Shiro’s lips before he turned his attention back to the others. “Okay, what can we do to help you out?” He asked, attention turned to Coran again.

The older man hummed in thought. “Well, Pidge and Hunk could be helpful in looking over my calculations to see where I went wrong. If I can track down where my mixture went wrong, working backwards to find a solution would be a piece of Deglarberry pie!” He said enthusiastically. He then tapped his chin thoughtfully, glancing down at Keith again. “It then just becomes a question of what to do with Keith in the meantime. My work area is far from a place for children.”

“Well, perhaps Lance could-!”

“No,” Keith cut off Allura flatly. He pointed his goo-speckled spoon at the boy in question and shook his head. “I don’t like him.” And then he started licking the last remnants of goo from his spoon.

“Well, good, because I don’t like you either!” Lance shot back.

Keith’s head shot back up and he gawked, eyes starting to _actually_ water, clearly wounded. “Lance,” Shiro said, low and warning. He reached down and gently patted the unruly mop of black hair. “Well, I could keep an eye on him.”

“Shiro,” Allura said, patient but also a bit worried, “we have the conference with the Multarian leaders. And the Multarian people are very strict about the safety and security of young ones; if they see Keith, they’ll assume that he belongs to someone on the ship and it could jeopardize the alliance. We are, after all, constantly under threat from the Galra.”

Grey eyes widened then glanced down, conflicted. Pidge waved one hand and whistled lightly. “Um, yeah, hi. I could look after him. I mean, he seems pretty okay with me and I’m sure he’d get a kick out of seeing the Lions. Little kids _dig_ giant robots,” She suggested. She didn’t miss the sparkle that came to the indigo eyes settled across from her, shining as if she’d just promised him a room full of his favorite snacks and the abolishment of any bed time protocol.

“What? But, Coran requires your help,”

“If it’s just going over calculations and the equations used to mix the chemical components, I can do that from anywhere. Heck, it might even be easier to do from the hanger, since that’s where all my equipment and gear is set up,” She said with a shrug.

“I wanna see the _giant robots_!” Keith suddenly announced, squirming to stand on the very edge of the seat with his hands on the table. Shiro immediately grabbed him around the middle to keep him from slipping off the tiny edge left from the booster of tech manuals. Big, pleading eyes were squarely fixed on him. “ _Please_? Can I _please_? I like giant robots _a lot_!” He all but whined, earning a chuckle from Pidge.

Shiro looked at Keith then back at Pidge. “You’re sure you can keep an eye on him? Little kids can get bored easily and I don’t want him wandering off and getting hurt or anything,”

Pidge flashed him the Garrison salute as she stood from her chair. “I guarantee no harm will befall the wee toddler Keef on the watch of the Green Paladin of Voltron,” She hummed happily.

“Okay. I trust you to keep an eye on him,” He said, releasing a sigh that was an odd mix of anxious and relieved, before plucking Keith off the seat and setting him on the ground. She waited for him at the other end of the table, grinning widely as he darted over to her as quickly as his little legs would let him. He skidded to a stop in front of her and held his arms up expectantly. She raised an eyebrow and cocked her head. “What’s up?” She asked.

“Carry me,” He said, pausing a beat before adding, “please.”

She laughed before leaning down and scooping him up, carrying him as she had before. “Only because you remembered to mind your manners, okay?”

He nodded and looked around the halls eagerly, much more enthused than he had been on the trip to the dining room. “Are they really giant robots?” He asked, breathless in his wonderment.

She grinned. “Well, they aren’t so much _giant_ robots,” She trailed, her grin widening at the betrayed look that fell on his face, “as they are _ginormous_ robots!”

“ _Ginormous_?” He squawked, any trace of distrust erased, while leaning closer so that their noses were touching.

“Oh, yeah, they’re _huge_. And they combine to form an _even bigger_ robot! And, if you behave yourself, maybe I can convince Shiro to let me take you for a ride in Green later,” She said, dropping her volume to a conspiratorial whisper at the last statement.

His smile was as bright as the sun at her words. He flopped into her shoulder and nuzzled in with a contented sigh. “This is why you’re my most favorite,” He mused.

“Oh? I am?” She asked in slight surprise. Keith admittedly spent time with her pretty regularly but more times than not he could be found training or relaxing with Shiro.

“Yup,” He said, shifting a bit in her arms to wrap his arms tighter around her neck. He rested his chin on her shoulder, completely relaxed, and hummed quietly. “You’re super smart and really funny and you’re always really nice to me. And I like your glasses cause they make your eyes all big and sparkly. You’re just the best.”

She smiled and shifted her grip to better support his weight with the adjustments he’d made. “Well, I’m glad cause you’re my favorite too,” She said happily, grinning wider when he giggled and burrowed into her from glee at the omission. It seemed that in his child-like state, he was more open and transparent with his feelings. While it was far from a confession, it made her happy to know he held such opinions about her.

Maybe her little crush wasn’t as silly as she’d thought.


	2. The Team Gets Shrunk. Literally

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge’s brilliant idea to take Keith to see the Lions doesn’t go as planned. At all.

The Lions had always been extremely interesting to Pidge. From a technological standpoint, they were constantly evolving to match their Paladin’s needs in battle without any sound reason as to why. As their bond as a team developed further, so did not only their connection with their individual Lion, but the other four as well; giving them the ability to communicate in brief flashes with each other without needing another Paladin to play translator. This benefitted Pidge especially well, since she was normally the one to start repairs or develop new upgrades to help improve their software. While she had been under the proverbial hood of all the Lions multiple times in her tenure as the Green Paladin, she still wasn’t sure how _exactly_ the Lions actually worked. It seemed less that she learned how to repair them solely through trial and error or her own wits, and more that the Lions poured the solutions into her head themselves, much like turning on a sink faucet. Whichever Lion she was working on would tell her what to do as it needed to be done – down to which programs to run when and in what order, and what physical damages needed attending first – and then she’d be left to piece how it all worked together when the task was complete. She started to keep a journal for each Lion where she logged every repair or upgrade she made to them, paying excruciating attention to detail in making sure her accounts were as accurate as possible.

Green Lion had teased her once, when Pidge had asked why they gave her the information in such a way, by pointing out that Pidge would be insulted if they simply told her how everything fit together. “You are too smart to be talked down to, my Paladin, and giving you all the answers would only infuriate you. Instead, we give you the tools so that you can reach the answers on your own,” She had explained, her voice a warm and affectionate purring in Pidge’s head. Pidge had to admit that Green was right in that it was against her nature to simply want to have information handed to her, as well as feeling like learning about the Lions over time helped them maintain a certain level of mysticism and mystery.

In short; it helped maintain the image of being super cool.

A fact that was not missed on Keith when they entered the hanger.

His eyes had sparkled and the little gasp he let out had quickly morphed into a small squeal that cracked at the end, earning an amused snort from her. She set him down and he slowly approached the half circle of feline themed robots, looking from each one in turn as he stepped. Their shields were down so he could get a much better look at each of them. He paused in the center, where he could turn in a circle and see each of them perfectly as he did. He turned around to look at her, a grin that nearly split his face in half, and waved his arms out at the Lions. “They. Are. _So cool_!” He shouted as he ran in a big circle, arms still out.

She laughed a bit before she felt a panic rising in the back of her mind, the sensation foreign but also somewhat familiar. It was followed by a flickering of light from her peripheral. She frowned worriedly and took a few steps forward, slipping over to gently place her hand against the shield. “Oh, Red,” She said softly.

Of all the Lions, Red spoke with Pidge the least often. She didn’t take it personally, though, as Red expressed the same disinterest in anyone whose name didn’t start with a “K” and end in an “Eith”. The bond between Keith and Red, while instantaneous, had become deeper in a surprisingly short amount of time. Keith insisted that it was simply that they were a good combination, but Pidge knew better. She’d seen how often Keith would sneak into the hanger, believing no one else was present, and get himself comfortable leaning back against Red’s muzzle and simply chat with her. While Pidge wasn’t privy to what they discussed, Green Lion was able to confirm they were, in fact, speaking through the telepathic bond.

It only made sense, then, that Red may not be as accepting of the situation Keith was in as everyone else was trying to be.

“My Paladin… _What_ have you _done_ to my Paladin? _Is_ that even my Paladin or is this some kind of _experiment_?” She roared, her tone a mix of fear and fury. The intensity of her emotions actually made Pidge wince, pushing on her mind like having a brick dropped on her head.

“Red,” Pidge breathed softly, trying to gain control of the situation, but the pressure in her head only grew worse. She bit her lip to keep in a whimper of pain.

“ _Answer me_ , Paladin of Green! Is this some kind of _plot_? Are you scheming _against_ the rest of Voltron? _Are you_?” She bellowed.

“No, I would never!” She snapped back just as Green stood at attention, roaring loudly at Red.

“How _dare_ you question the intentions of my Paladin!” Green growled, her body shifting low and tail raising. A sinking stomach grew in Pidge’s belly as she glanced between the two Lions. Red’s shield flickered briefly, teetering on the edge of being dropped to accept the obvious challenge Green was throwing down. The Lions had bickered and squabbled before – typically Blue and Red arguing over whose Paladin was actually responsible for whatever newest qualm rose between Lance and Keith – but Green had never reached the point of making threats or escalating a situation.

A small tug at her hand alerted her to the small child beside her, who was pressing into her leg with a fearful look in his eyes.

It occurred to Pidge that, while she doubted Keith’s bond with Red was at a point that he could fully communicate with her, he might be able to pick up on the feelings of the two Lions. And even if he wasn’t sensing anything telepathically, it was clear that he could at least read the situation enough to know he had reason to feel uncomfortable. Pidge looked up at Red and squared her shoulders. “Knock it off, both of you!” She barked, turning her attention between the two of them. She could feel their attention shift from one another back to her. “You’re both being unreasonable and you’re scaring Keith.”

Green returned to sitting upright, releasing only a small huff of resignation that the argument was being laid to rest for now, while Red shifted to lay down, her head dipping to rest between her front paws. Her shield stayed up and Pidge sighed, giving Keith’s hand a small squeeze and pressing her other hand more firmly against Red’s shield.

Keith looked from Pidge to Red Lion, cocking his head like a confused puppy. “Is the red kitty mad?” He asked quietly.

She looked down at him and plastered on a smile that she hoped was reassuring. “Well, she’s not really mad… She’s just upset. More sad than mad… See, she’s really worried about someone special to her but she doesn’t want to say it that way. Instead she’s being grumpy about it,” She said, trying to think of how best to explain it.

He blinked once at her before looking over at Red again. He released Pidge’s hand to walk a bit closer to the shield, pushing both of his tiny hands against the surface. Red perked up in curiosity, letting the shield drop upon his touch.

His eyes lit up when it disappeared, looking at his hands in awe, clearly thinking that he had forced it down himself. Amusement unfurled from Red as she observed him. Keith beamed up at Pidge before stepping forward and pressing himself against Red’s nose, stretching as far as his little arms could reach. For a moment, she tilted her head in bemusement as to what he was trying to accomplish, before he tossed his head back to try and look at her. “Does she feel better now?” He called.

A smile turned up on Pidge’s lips that she quickly hide by covering her mouth with one hand, the other falling to rest on her hip. “What is he doing? Why is he doing this?” Red pestered her.

“It’s called a hug; humans sometimes hug each other to offer comfort. He’s trying to make you feel better,” She mumbled into her hand, the words repeating in her mind so as to actually be understood by the puzzled robot.

Red seemed frozen by shock for a moment before she shifted a bit, letting out an actual purr through her robotic form, something akin to nuts and bolts being vibrated on a metal tray, and gently pressed into Keith as a form of acceptance of the affection. She was careful to not bowl him over with the gesture, though it did push him back a few feet. He noticed and giggled excitedly in response, tightening his hold on her snout and rubbing his cheek against the cool metal. Another purr rumbled out of the mechanical cat. While Red still seemed a bit weary of Keith, it was clear that she was at least a bit more softened up to him in his current form.

Glad that a crisis had been avoided with Red, Pidge cleared her throat to get their attention. “Okay, buddy, how about we let the Lions rest for a bit, okay? Do you like to color? Cause if so, I may have some markers and paper waiting to have your name put on them,” She mused lightly.

Keith slowly let go of Red Lion, looking up at her again in awe, before scampering back over to Pidge’s side. “Can I draw the Lions?” He asked excitedly.

She laughed lightly and nodded. “Of course. They don’t move around much so they’ll be great models, too,” She laughed before guiding him over to her table. She pulled open one of the drawers and started rummaging through. Her computer dinged to signify that Coran had sent the calculations along to her via the private messaging system they’d developed. It was in case of emergencies where they couldn’t use the regular communicators, but could easily be accessed from any technical device with a screen.

A space Discord, in a way.

Finding a notebook with lineless paper had been relatively easy for Pidge but locating something that could work like markers or crayons was the real trial. Over their travels, they’d gotten small trinkets and mementos from most of the planets they visited; practical things they could make use of being one of the more frequent options. For Pidge, notebooks and writing utensils and things of that ilk were her favorite. She loved getting to use the advanced tablets and holo-screens on the castle and they were common among most of the other aliens they encountered, but there were moments when she just liked the curl of a pencil in her fingers, the soft brush of her hand against a clean sheet of paper, and the hassle of washing trace smudges of ink or lead from her skin.

It took her emptying the drawer of nearly all its contents to find a small bundle of thin, long instruments tied together in a green ribbon, but she grinned in pride. They were an odd hybrid of markers and crayons – requiring a lid to be kept from running out, much like a marker, but were thicker and wider like toddler crayons back on Earth were - and required a bit of finagling to work. But the children of Huyrtroz - the planet she’d gotten them from - could use them well enough and she could say with certainty that they were washable, so she doubted that Keith would have too much trouble so long as he was taught. She returned the items she’d removed from the drawer with a quick sweep of one arm and turned toward Keith, who was bouncing on her chair with the notebook set on his lap. “Okay, this should work pretty good. They’re a little different than the kinds of color stuff you’re used to using, though, so watch how I do this carefully, okay?” She asked as she opened the notebook to a clean page, then tugged the green and red ones from the group.

He nodded happily, scooting a bit closer to her. She grinned and handed the red one to him, holding the green one up by the cap using her index and thumb. Keith tilted his head a bit, inspecting how she was holding it, and then mirrored her with the one he had. She grinned in approval and he beamed back.

The casing of the utensils were uniform and bland and had no text of any kind on them. The casing around them was a pale grey with white ovals in the center on one side, but the caps were tinted whatever color it would write in. “Now, you’re gonna want to leave the cap on for a minute or two, okay? They won’t write if we don’t do a little magic first,” She said, lowering her tone conspiratorially.

He gasped softly before he nodded, eyes so wide with excitement that they almost looked like they may pop out. “Is it secret magic?” He asked softly.

“Yes, it is. You can’t tell anyone else about this, okay?” She hummed. Pidge was the only one – sans maybe Coran and Allura, admittedly – who knew how to work these things and she planned to make use of that fact in the near future. After all, she figured Lance deserved a little bite back for constantly stealing her headphones.

Keith held his hand up to his mouth, tugging at an imaginary zipper, and flashed her a thumbs up. She laughed lightly at how ridiculously endearing it was. She made a note to herself to try to get him to do it again when he was back to normal. “Mmhmm!” He muffled out, refusing to open his mouth, as if to show his sincerity.

“Now, what you’re gonna do next is press your thumb against the little white oval here, and when it changes color you can take the cap off and use it,” She explained, placing the pad of her own thumb in place. How it worked was that the inside of the tube was a mineral that melted in to an ink-like substance, but only when exposed to high temperatures of heat. The casing around the sliver of mineral would amplify the body temperature pressed against it internally to melt the mineral without running the risk of burning the user. Once the oval turned completely green, she pulled the cap off and drew a quick kitty face on a blank sheet of paper.

“That’s _so cool_!” He said excitedly, fumbling with the red one in his hand to imitate how she had held it. Pidge chuckled as she popped the cap back on the one she was holding, reaching over to lightly push his bangs out of his face as he watched the oval change color under his touch. Once it was ready to use, he yanked the cap off and started drawing frantic squiggles and wavy lines, giggling like a little mad man in glee.

Pidge would be lying if she tried to say it was anything other than adorable and endearing.

She turned her attention to her desk then hummed softly on thought. Despite having cleared a small space off from where she’d placed the items in the drawer, there was still a lot of stuff on the surface. It was mostly controlled chaos of various projects she had going on, with blueprints and scrap papers with equations tossed here and there but components of new tech and tools were also strewn about. The idea of clearing it all off and tidying up was unappealing but seemed to make sense, so that she could make room for Keith to draw while she worked over the calculations. “I suppose I could group projects together with their blueprints and started pieces for now, just to make room,” She mumbled out loudly, cupping her chin in one hand as her eyes flickered between everything.

Violet eyes shifted from her, to the desk, and then looked back at the Lions as he snapped the cap back on the marker. “Can I draw near the Lions?” He asked.

She hummed thoughtfully before nodding, offering the rest of the bunch of markers to him. “I’ll be right over here keeping an eye on you. Remember that if you behave yourself maybe I can take you for a ride in the Green Lion later, okay?” She mused lightly.

He nodded eagerly. “I will!” He said before squirming off the chair and darting back towards the Lions. She laughed as she watched him settling on the ground, laying on his belly in the same spot he’d stood before, and began shifting through the markers to determine where to start. She smiled to herself as she settled into her seat and pulled up the calculations. She then grabbed the small holo-screen that she had programmed to work like a white board and got to work, picking the equation apart piece by piece to find where the problem stemmed from.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Keith decided that he would start with the Yellow Lion, and then loop back around to draw the rest of the Lions, ending with the Blue Lion. He made sure to put the caps back on the markers the second he was done using them. He knew that Pidge was really, _really_ picky about who she let use her stuff and he didn’t want her to think he wouldn’t be good to her things. Plus, he figured it would get him bonus points towards getting to ride in one of the Lions later. He started to grin and giggle at the thought.

Being a giant robot pilot was what he really wanted to be when he grew up. Well, that or a firefighter.

A strange sense ran through him, creeping from between his shoulders and up along his spine, but it wasn’t completely unpleasant. He perked up and looked around to see if he could find something that may have caused it. Maybe a fan was on, or something, but he didn’t see anything. Despite wanting to think it was something like a chill, another part of his mind seemed to tell him it wasn’t something as simple as that, coaxing him into settling back in and starting on drawing the head of the Black Lion. He felt like he was used to this sensation, and the sensation seemed to vibrate with amusement, so it couldn’t be bad. Right?

“So you can still sense me, eh?” A voice mused in his head, causing him to bolt upright and look straight at the Red Lion. He blinked then tilted his head, brow furrowing. “Fear not, my Paladin, I will not hurt you.”

He jutted his chin out a bit and huffed, turning his attention back to his drawing. “M’not afraid of nuthin’,” He grumbled sulkily.

Red laughed lightly. “There is no shame in occasionally being afraid or confused,” She chimed lightly.

“I’m not scared of _nuthin’_!” He shouted back angrily, glaring daggers at the yellow eyes of the giant cat.

Pidge perked up, pushing her chair out a bit to look over at Keith. Her eyes were bright with concern. “You okay over there, buddy?” She called gently. Keith’s face flushed at the question and he nodded, not wanting to speak again, and he could hear the Lion laughing at him. It only made him blush even more. “Well, let me know if you need anything.”

“Kay,” He called back meekly. He resumed drawing for another minute or two before glancing at the Lion again. “Why can I hear you in my head?”

“Because you are my Paladin. We have a deep, mental bond that links our consciousness together so long as we are both alive, to assure that I can protect you and that we can reunite with one another when separated,” She explained. He stared at her blankly. “Er, uh, you are my pilot and we have a magical bond?”

Ah, that seemed to make more sense to him by how he gasped excitedly. “ _I’m your pilot_?” He asked, voice barely above a whisper. The hope and giddiness flowed off of him like waves, though, so it wasn’t hard for Red to figure out what he was feeling.

“Indeed you are. If you would like, we could take a brief trip out so that I can give you a taste of what you normally experience,” She offered.

He blinked then looked back over at Pidge, using a stylus to jot some things down on her holo-screen. “I promised Pidge that I would be good. She said that if I am she’ll talk Shiro into letting me go for a trip on the Green Lion later,” He answered.

“The Black Paladin will never approve of you going out. The Green Paladin may think that she can convince him otherwise, but I can guarantee that she cannot,” Red answered calmly. His eyes faltered, flicking with disappointment, and he shifted to look down at the picture. “I, however, will not deny you of what is yours. As the Red Paladin, it is our right to fly together whenever we should like.”

He stared at her for a moment before looking back over at Pidge, concern evident in his features. Red felt a bit guilty taking advantage of both he and the Green Paladin, but she was still unsure if this small creature was truly her Paladin. And if it was then she wanted to know exactly how much he knew; how much of the him she knew was still present. If he could pilot her as well as usual, she would have her answer. She knew that her Paladin had a soft spot in him for the Green Paladin – though she didn’t exactly understand _why_ – and she had been hoping that this side of him may lack that same loyalty.

Then again, he seemed rather suggestable.

“Just a quick flight, I promise. All you have to do is ask the Green Paladin to leave long enough for us to get out of the hanger. Ask her to bring you sustenance or fluids,” She said, keeping her voice gentle and reassuring. She could sense the turmoil in him. He didn’t want to disappoint the Green Paladin, but he was also desperate to see what it would be like to fly in Red Lion.

“Pidge, I want some juice,” He said suddenly. A pleased purr rumbled through the Red Lion.

The girl in question perked up at her name being called and looked over. She looked at the calculations briefly. She’d done a pretty good job of deconstructing the equation, managing to locate three errors already that could perhaps explain why the chemical had caused the changes that it had. “I think I’m at a good stopping place. Why don’t we go get some juice and snacks together?” She asked. A break seemed like a good idea, especially if Keith was complaining about wanting something. Pidge didn’t have a lot of experience with toddlers – dealing with Lance _apparently_ didn’t count, if you asked Shiro – but she knew that they could get really fussy if they got bored or needed something but had to wait.

“Is it okay if I wait here? I wanna finish my picture,” He said, shifting a bit to look back down at the page.

She hummed softly before looking around the hanger. There wasn’t really anything for him to get in to, really, since they kept most of their equipment and spare parts locked up in cupboards and high up on shelves. “Okay, but you have to stay right there, okay? I’ll only be gone for a little bit,”

He made a small noise of acknowledgement and waved one hand, turning to lay back down and picking up the black marker. She smiled and waved back, despite knowing he couldn’t see, and slipped out of the hanger. The minute she was gone, he scrambled up and walked towards the Red Lion. “We won’t be gone very long, right?” He asked cautiously.

“Correct. This will be a short trip, just so you can see what it is like,” She agreed, letting her head lower to him. Her jaw opened, welcoming him to make the short trek to the cockpit.

“We _really_ gotta come right back, okay? I don’t want Pidge getting in trouble because of us,” He warned as he took a few steps closer, looking up at the roof of her mouth curiously. When it was nothing but metal and dim red lights, he started climbing up to rest on her lower jaw.

She hummed quietly in response. “The Green Paladin will be fine so long as we return before the Black Paladin finds out,” She answered as he made his way upwards. She then perked up slightly. “I will need to make some adjustments before we get going. I won’t be able to do so until you’re in the cockpit, though.”

Inside the cockpit, Keith couldn’t help but gasp in awe. The whole place was lit up with red screens in weird words he couldn’t understand, but that didn’t matter. He darted over and clamored on to the seat, kneeling on it and resting his hands on one of the arm rests as he looked around more. “Doesn’t have a seat belt,” He mumbled to himself.

Were giant robots _supposed_ to have seat belts? He didn’t know but figured probably not. He’d never seen them before in Power Rangers, after all.

He ducked his head down to look under the console and saw a few pedals, but they started shifting upwards, closer to him. He jumped back with a small yelp, smacking into the back of the seat as it moved forward. “Turn around and face forward. I need to make the proper adjustments for you to pilot,” Red Lion chided lightly.

He scowled up at the roof of the cockpit and then huffed, sitting forward and crossing his arms over his chest. “M’just lookin around,” He groused quietly.

“I understand your curiosity, but there will be time for that later,” Red mused, moving the seat and pedals up and forward. Once she moved it close enough, Keith scooted forward a bit and nudged one pedal with the toe of his sneaker. The pedal shifted a bit closer at Red’s insistence, settling so that it was much easier for him to reach, and then she moved the throttles downward so he could reach those as well. He was almost pressed against the dashboard but he would be able to see and steer just fine. “Now, see if you can guide us out.”

“You can’t move on your own?” He asked in surprise.

“I can move a bit on my own when absolutely necessary, but if you are able to pilot me, then my movement is led to your discretion,” She said calmly before letting her presence fade back a bit. She opened the main hanger doors and turned to face the empty, twinkling abyss of space just outside. If this truly was her Paladin, then surely his instinct would guide him in to making their way for their flight.

Keith swallowed, a mix of nervousness and excitement coursing through him as he stared out at the open doors. He was going to get to do it! He was going to get to pilot a giant robot and fly around in space!… So long as he could figure out how to get her to move. He reached out and settled his hands on the throttles and tapped one of the pedals curiously, being sure to not use enough force to actually make it do whatever it was supposed to do. He felt as if he’d been here before – done this countless times – and he supposed it had to be true. The Red Lion seemed confident in his ability to do this.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then let himself fall in to what felt right.

Red Lion jolted to attention and laughed in delight as her body moved to stand, taking one cautious step forward. He wasn’t as brazen and bold as she was used to, but this was certainly her Paladin! “Wonderful! Keep going, now!” She praised enthusiastically. He pushed the throttles forward a bit more and the Red Lion began moving at a trot.

As soon as they reached the doorway, he pushed forward on one of the throttles, shoved the pedal he’d been poking earlier down as far as he could, and Red Lion darted out at full speed, leaving a small smoke trail behind them as they rushed out in to the unknown.

Just as the Lion disappeared, Pidge came back in carrying a small tray. There were two juice pouches, a small bowl with some kind of pink spread, and a slightly larger bowl with what appeared to be come kind of sliced fruit. “Okay, buddy, I went ahead and got some stuff to help keep us focused while we’re in he-!” Pidge’s smile faltered and she dropped the tray with a loud clang as she stared at out at the open doors of the hanger. Her mind whirled as she came to realize what was happening.

Keith and the Red Lion were _gone_.

Keith, whom was currently trapped in the _body and mentality of a near-four year old_ , and the Red Lion, _right arm of Voltron_ , were _gone_ and the _hanger door was wide open and they probably went out in to the vastness of space_.

“Shiro’s going to kill me,” She wheezed out softly, knees shaking a little bit for both fear of their leader’s wrath, but also the myriad of terrible things that could happen to the tiny Red Paladin on his own.


	3. A Call for Reinforcements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In response to Keith and Red's decision to take a joy ride, Pidge decides that she can't retrieve them on her own. She decides to seek out the only person on the team that would probably help her without reading her the Riot Act first.

Lance had to admit that this was probably one of his favorite conferences with a potential ally yet.

Given that Coran and Hunk were busy trying to find a solution to the Keith issue, and Pidge was filling in as President of the Babysitter’s Club down in the hanger, he didn’t really have anything else to do so he ended up settling in during Shiro and Allura’s conference with the Multarian leaders. Multarians were humanoid in shape but had feathers instead of skin, which were shorter along the face so that features could still be made out, and got longer and fuller the farther down they went. Well, as much as Lance could see, anyway. The leader’s feathers were a bit frayed and dulling at the edges, most likely a hint at his age and how his years in leadership wore down on him.

The lovely princess, named Hyaltu, was quite the opposite, though.

Her feathers were bright, glinting in soft hues of yellow and blue and green, trickling between the shades in various swirls and trails that reminded him of dripping paint. The colors made the shocking bubblegum pink of her eyes pop even more, and he’d be a fool to not acknowledge what a lovely creature she was. She sat just a bit behind her father and watched Lance with rapt interest, all atwitter at the attention he was giving her.

She giggled and her plumage fluffed up a bit when he flexed and winked at her. Lord Gortew had paused mid-sentence to look back at his daughter with a small scowl and she was quick to dip her head in apology, feathers smoothing back out. “If you are having trouble focusing, dear daughter, than I’m sure I could fetch a guard to take you for a brief recess to release some of that excess energy,” He said evenly.

“I apologize, Father. I assure you that I shall behave,” She said, tone gentle and polite. While Lord Gortew’s attention was elsewhere, Allura jabbed Lance none-too-gently in the side as a warning to knock it off.

He huffed a bit and glared at her just as the doors of the main deck slid open and something grabbed Lance’s arm like a vice. “Lance, oh thank _God_! I could _really_ use your help!” Pidge suddenly blurted, yanking at his arm so roughly that he thought she might actually dislocate it.

Shiro wheeled around at her frantic tone. “What’s going on, Pidge?” He asked, his tone calm but the look on his face screaming of suspicion.

Pidge looked up from where she’d been trying to yank Lance around like a ragdoll and flashed an innocent smile at Shiro. Lance winced at how painfully obvious it was that she was forcing it. “Oh, sorry to bother you, Shiro, but I could use Lance’s help with a little something,” She said, quick and chipper.

“And who might this be?” Lord Gortew asked calmly, though the plumage around his neck was ruffled to show his mild displeasure.

“Ah, where are our manners? Lord Gortew, allow me to introduce you to Pidge Gunderson, the Green Paladin of Voltron,” Allura said, her tone polite as she extended one hand in gesture to the human in question.

“Ah, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Pidge said quickly, bending at the waist in a regal bow. It was a gesture that Coran had been adamant in all the Paladins picking up on when engaging with diplomats from other planets. She then righted herself and gave Lance another sharp tug towards the doors. “My apologies for cutting this meeting short, however, I have a small situation that requires the assistance of another Paladin.”

Shiro scowled, opening his mouth to protest, but was beat to the punch by Allura. “Ah, Pidge, I thought that Keith was already assisting you?”

“Yeah, you’ve got McMullet to help you out!” Lance protested, yanking his arm out of her grasp and turning his attention back to the screen. Princess Hyaltu’s disappointed frown flipped immediately, meekly waving at him. “Besides, my skills of communication are better implemented here.”

Lance made the mistake of glancing back at Pidge and seeing murder in her eyes at his dismissal. The ill-will faded quickly and she hummed lightly. “You’re correct about having Keith’s assistance, but I could really use a third set of hands. Especially if those hands belong to _the_ _most talented sniper in the universe_ ,” Her tone was sugary sweet and sang only of a horrible fate to befall him.

“If the Blue Paladin’s assistance is required by the Green Paladin, I take no offense with his stepping out. We would hate to hold up any of your crew from completing their heroic acts,” Lord Gortew said evenly, glancing briefly at his daughter of his shoulder. It was enough to prove he had ulterior motives in his own eager acceptance of Lance’s departure.

Pidge beamed at him and bowed again. “Thank you so much, Lord Gortew. Your people are so fortunate to have a leader as wise and understanding as yourself,” She said before grabbing the hood of Lance’s jacket and yanking him back with her. He yelped and staggered to fall in line with her steps, more to prevent himself from toppling over.

Once they were in the hallway, Pidge shoved him a few feet away from her and stepped over to the small control on the wall beside the door. “ _What_ was _that_ all about?” Lance snapped, hands on his hips and chin cocked upwards. Pidge showed no response as she rummaged through one of her pockets to pull out a small screwdriver, which she then jammed against the bottom corner of the control panel. He blinked and stepped a bit closer, unnerved by how quiet she was being, and leaned to watch over her shoulder as she pried the panel up and out, exposing the wires. She replaced the screwdriver and instead produced a small wire cutter. “Holy crow! What are you _doing_?” He cried, reaching to swipe the cutters from her as she went at one of the wires.

She caught one foot behind one of his ankles and tugged hard, knocking him flat on his rear as she cut two of the wires. He recognized the move from many of his sparring sessions with Keith. “Buying us some time. I can’t have Allura and Shiro finding out about this or else it’ll be a huge issue,” She said evenly, glaring down at him as she slipped the wire cutters back in her pocket. She glanced back over at the panel and then sighed. “I need you to go to Keith’s room and get a pair of his clothes for me, then meet me back in the hanger, okay?”

“What? Why? What’s going on?” He asked, staying prone on the ground.

“I may have made a little… miscalculation, as it were, and now I need some help fixing it. Anyway, I’ll explain what I mean later. Once you get the clothes and we’re in the hanger,” She explained, looking around the hallway to make sure that Coran and Hunk were nowhere in sight.

He scoffed a bit. “So even _The Oh So Smart Pidge Gunderson_ can make mistakes like the rest of us _mere mortals_? I am shocked and mortified,” He quipped then looked back up at her. And he _really_ looked at her this time.

She was fidgeting more than usual, shifting her weight from foot to foot much quicker than she realistically needed to. She looked a bit paler, too, like she’d just stepped out of some high-quality haunted house that managed to get to her. But what really startled him were her eyes; so wide and gleaming in emotions he almost didn’t believe. He’d almost never seen Pidge drop her usual façade of sass and rationality, typically slipping in to anger or frustration in high-stress situations rather than getting wigged out like she was now. He let the smug smirk fall from his face and he just stared at her for a moment, their eyes locking, and he suddenly knew that he was right.

There was fear in her eyes.

“Look, Lance,” She breathed out, trying to steady herself and regain some sense of her usual self, “I just… I already told you that I’d explain everything to you in a minute. Just _please_ go get those clothes and meet me in the hanger. _Please_.” And then she turned and darted off down the hallway in the opposite direction, clearly making her way for the hanger.

Curious and concerned, Lance pushed himself off the floor and headed back towards their bedrooms.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

Whatever had happened to her Paladin, his energy and enthusiasm was infectious and Red was more than happy to catch it.

As they ducked and weaved through a small asteroid belt, he was whooping and hollering in excitement. Normally such behavior would have been more grating on her nerves but she found it endearing coming from this tiny Red Paladin. She knew that Keith typically loved flying – knew just how comfortable and at home he felt in the pilot’s chair – but normally his thrill for it all was toned down by his concentration on whatever objectives he’d been assigned for the mission. His hyper focus and strong sense of justice were part of what had drawn her to him, yes, but she also liked knowing if her Paladin enjoyed what they did.

Alfor had always been so hard to read. Even with all the years they’d spent together, she still couldn’t say for certain whether he piloted her out of genuine passion for it or obligation.

“This is _so cool_!” Keith shouted at the top of his lungs, pushing the throttle down as far as he could and sending Red whirling forward even faster. With another quick flick of his wrist, they nose-dived down and turned, flying upside down and below the asteroid belt.

“I am glad you are enjoying this, my Paladin,” Red purred softly, his awe and wonder at everything around them crashing down on her like a current. She glanced up at the stars and asteroid belt above, herself enamored with the strange beauty of it. She’d never really focused a lot of her energy on what space had to offer.

After all, being an almost-all-knowing sentient robot lion tended to take the majesty out of a lot of things in the universe.

Red had always hoped that, perhaps, by seeing things through Alfor’s eyes, she’d gain some kind of appreciation for it. And, to some extent, that had been true; she was certainly more impressed with the Castle Ship than when she’d first been built. Altean engineering, alchemy and ingenuity were all aspects of the culture that Alfor himself – despite his prowess and skill in those fields - continued to be highly invested in up until the day he died. She, in turn, had grown to enjoy watching more developments be made in those fields as well. And Keith, while still having a lot of the same characteristics that initially drew her to Alfor, was his own strange new breed; cut from a fabric of the same hue, but made of a different material, as it were.

Alfor was always good about articulating his opinions and the reasoning behind reaching those determinations; a leader whom implemented both natural talent and instinct, as well as a strong sense of morality that was guided by logical reasoning. Keith was similar in trusting his gut instincts and relying on his natural talents to help get him through most situations, but he was still young and had a tendency to let the consequence of action fade out until he was facing it. It was refreshing, though, to have a partner who was guided much more by his emotions and personal morality than Alfor’s more mature and responsible method.

Which wasn’t to say that Keith was completely immature or lacked the ability to see where the skills of his predecessor could be helpful, seeing as his admiration of these skills in the other Paladin’s made Red a bit warmer to the new team as well. Keith admired Shiro’s level-headed approach to almost all situations and his ability to maintain composure under pressure. He admired Hunk’s intelligence and care for the safety of others causing him to stay on the team and grow comfortable in a position that still occasionally seemed to distress him. He admired Lance’s adaptability, able to come up with relatively decent plans on the fly, as well as admiring how quickly the other was catching on to fighting. As for Pidge, he admired her intelligence and technical skills, yes, but more so her resolve and confidence, her comfort in her own skin and knowing who she was. Even though they fought a handful of times in the past, he’d always admired her refusal to back down on her stance without being given a logical reason to do so.

Red Lion felt he was giving the Green Paladin more credit than she deserved, but did have to admit that some of his evaluations were fair.

They found a comet when they ended up heading off to the west, which caused him to laugh and insist upon a race. Red had been happy to participate, the two of them twirling along the comet as they kept pace. The race came to an end when they rammed head first into a strange satellite, Red Lion accidently curling around it and knocking it out of its designated location. “Sorry, Red,” He said, frantic but sincere.

She chuckled a bit as her paws released the satellite, watching as it began hovering away from them. “It is fine, Keith. I have suffered through much worse than this,” She said reassuringly. She then perked up, remembering that he himself was missing his Paladin armor. “But are you alright? It wasn’t a particularly massive collision, but it still could have caused injury for you.”

“Nah,” He laughed, righting Red back to what would be considered upright, and zooming after the trail the comet’s tail had left for them, “I’m totally fine. We Paladins are made of tougher stuff than that, after all!”

They skid to a stop as they came upon the beginnings of what Alfor had always called a “meteor twirl”; where, instead of falling to a planet, the meteors would twist and twirl in the slim gravity between planets. They gleamed and glinted, their tails flickering in a variety of colors, and she made sure to keep them rooted far enough away to not get pulled in to but to still have their perfect position to observe. “It’s like a tornado. Only _really pretty_ ,” Keith breathed softly. Silence fell between them for a bit before he perked back up, turning Red around to face the direction they’d just come from. “We should probably head back, though, before Pidge gets really upset.”

Red Lion hummed softly in agreement, letting him begin guiding them back. She tried to sense the other Lions so that she could guide them back more easily but felt a twinge of concern when she felt nothing. They’d gone off quite a ways, but surely they hadn’t drifted off that far.

Her concern bled through into Keith and he shifted, his own mind beginning to become fearful. “What’s wrong?” He asked quietly.

“Nothing, my Paladin,” She said, too quick and too curt by how his anxiety only spiked. She didn’t understand why he was so unnerved. There had been multiple situations in the past where they’d been separated from the others but he’d always remained calm and focused.

“Are we lost?” He gulped, voice cracking a little bit as his panic only mounted even more.

“Not at all… We just need to head back a little ways and then I’ll be able to figure out how to get us back,” She insisted, trying not to get frustrated. Her Paladin was typically a bit impulsive and a bit emotional, but he’d never seemed this easy to unwind. His actions were more akin to that of the Yellow Paladin, or a young kitten taking its first steps out of its mother’s watching gaze. The realization of how accurate her analogy was hit her full force and her mind skidded to a stop, all the piece clicking together and making her feel ignorant for not realizing sooner.

He wasn’t a clone or a shrunk version of her Paladin; he was the human equivalent of her Paladin when he was a kitten. While some of his memories and faint impressions remained – enough to give credence to him being her Paladin, while also casting a bit of doubt – for the most part, he was not the same person. He had not lived through the same situations and gained the experience of them; rather, had a vague idea of what was safe and what wasn’t. She looked around, determination to return to the castle ship rushing through her.

And that was when she felt a laser blast right between her shoulder blades.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

“So, like, what would you like to have on your tombstone?”

“…”

“See, I was thinking maybe ‘Pidge Gunderson: Dead Cause She Done Goofed’ would be good, but still… Oh, wait, Pidge Gunderson isn’t even your real name, right?”

“Lance, how about we _don’t_ right now, okay?”

“No, no! I got it! It can read ‘Katie Holt, A.K.A. Pidge Gunderson: Determined to be Bitch-Slapped into Oblivion by the Galra One Way or Another’! Since, you know, Shiro’s arm was made by the Galra and everything?”

“Lance, shut the Hell up!” Pidge snapped, reaching over to smack him right upside the back of the head.

“ _Ow_! Have you _never_ played road trip games, you _savage_? Driver is _always_ exempt from participating to avoid causing an accident on the road!” He barked back, reaching up with one hand to rub at his now tender head.

“Just… Focus on Blue connecting with Red, okay? We need to find them before anything bad can happen,” She huffed, turning her attention back to the mixture she was working on. She’d found the correct answers to the chemical mixture that had caused this whole debacle and was working out what she hoped was a solution. She’d brought only the things she absolutely needed – which still equated to one large and heavy bag of things – while having Lance pilot them out to look for him.

Assuming her work was correct, then they should have the antidote to revert Keith to normal and he should be able to fly Red back to the Castle Ship no problem.

Lance glanced back at her, seeing how her brow was knit in a mix of concentration and concern, then glanced back out at the vastness before them. “I’m sure they’re fine, just so you know. Red Lion wouldn’t let anything bad happen to Keith. And I’m sure that Shiro will understand that you didn’t think this was even a possibility. I mean, _who would_ think that Red would be willing to let little Keith anywhere _near_ her cockpit, _let alone_ let him actually _pilot_ her?” He prattled on, hoping to help put some of Pidge’s fears to bed.

“I’m not worried about Shiro,” Pidge said, sitting upright a bit as she poured the mixture into another container and swirled it gently, “I’m worried about Keith. Just because Red wouldn’t knowingly put him in danger, doesn’t mean that nothing bad could happen while they’re out there.” She held the container away from herself as a thin trail of smoke hissed out and then popped a cap on it. “Okay, this should be ready to go. Has Blue been able to pick anything up on the scanners or sensing Red?” She asked as got up and headed over, peering over Lance’s shoulder at the screens before him.

“So far, no. Blue says that she can _almost_ sense Red, so we must be getting close, but she can’t pinpoint what direction we should keep going in,” He said, looking down at the screen himself. He leaned back in his seat and looked up at Pidge. “Any other ideas?”

She hummed quietly, shoving the antidote in to the bag with Keith’s change of clothes in it. She figured that the clothes would help protect it from getting knocked over and spilt or broken. She made sure to shove Keith’s jacket in between the container and his bayard, just to avoid them bumping into each other too roughly. “You brought your bayard, right?”

He held it up and waved in the air lightly. “Of course,”

“Let’s see if we can’t use that sonar of yours to locate them. Or even if we can just get a satellite, I should be able to remotely take control from here and use that to get a bit more distance,” She said, her eyes locked squarely on the screens monitoring movement around them. He nodded and did as instructed, starting up the sonar and trying to track anything at all.

It took a bit of searching but they located a satellite not too far off and pulled up the most recent reports.

Pidge felt a shutter run through her as she read through it all. “Red Lion in close vicinity. Immediate approach and detainment necessary,” She breathed shakily before frantically skimming through to figure out the exact coordinates.

“Get me the coordinates and Blue’ll get us there in two shakes of her tail,” Lance said, trying to get Pidge focused back on their mission. He didn’t want her mind dragging her to dark and hopeless thoughts. She tensed for a moment before throwing herself into getting the information pulled up and plugged in for them.

They were halfway to the coordinates when they encountered Red Lion attempting to flee from a small fleet of Galran fighter ships.

Lance pushed down on the throttles and sent Blue flying forward, pulling up and over to arch over Red and get between them and the Galra. “Why don’t you guys buzz off?” Lance growled while shooting in response with the tail laser.

Pidge looked around before darting back over to her bag, pulling out her tablet and began clacking away at the screen. She skimmed through all the nearby planets to try and find one that would be hospitable enough for what she had planned. Finally, she selected a pink planet about 700 yards away from them. A quick check of the planet’s environment showed that it had an atmosphere and gravity similar to Earth. They’d be safe without their Paladin armor. If they could just shake the Galra for long enough to hide while they got Keith back to normal, they should be able to jump back in to the fight with both Lions at top performance with their skilled pilots in their chairs. She glanced back out and could barely see Red, floating just off to the side, her shield up as two Galra cruisers aimed for them. “Lance, look out!” She called out.

He glanced over then huffed. “Looks like the great washout needs the help from the underdog ace, eh? Well, lucky for him that the hero is here!” He laughed as he rushed forward, firing three shots at the two cruisers. Two of the shots narrowly missed but one clipped the closest offenders wing, sending it spinning off to the side.

Pidge scoffed a bit at his words but looked back over at Red as they got closer, taking a deep breath and trying to reach out to her. She left the link open in invitation, leaving the decision up to Red as to whether or not she wanted to reach out. “Green Paladin,” Her voice said softly, more meek and subdued than the young woman had ever heard.

“Red Lion. Is Keith okay?” She asked, deciding that she would scold the mechanic cat at a later point. Right now it was more important to get him back to normal and safely back to the castle ship.

“He is very frightened. He has been keeping us running until now but he seems to have shut down. He is hiding underneath the main control panel. I have tried convincing him to come out but I fear he has blocked me out completely,” She explained, her uncertainty laced in her words. Red Lion clearly had no idea how to proceed in the current situation – and Pidge didn’t necessarily blame her for that. What little they knew of their predecessors was that the Paladins had been much older than they and more experience in a combat setting – but thankfully Pidge was a master at planning things out on the fly.

“Hey, Lance,” She asked, turning her attention back to him, “do you think that, if Red dropped her shield, you and Blue could tow her down to landing on a nearby planet?”

He looked up at her, blue eyes sparking as he pieced together what she had in mind. Despite Pidge’s playful jabs at him, Lance wasn’t a complete idiot and could catch on to things happening around him relatively quick. Most likely a perk to him being so talented at connected with people in general. “Probably, but it’ll be close. There are still a good amount of Galra here, and I’m sure they’re calling for back-up now that there’s two Lions just ripe for the picking,” He commented.

Pidge smirked and adjusted her glasses. “Oh, don’t worry, I have a plan to take care of them,”


	4. According to Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge has a plan figured out to get everything settled... Too bad that Galra aren't keen on being considerate.

Despite having a plan, things could never be that easy.

“Maneuver to the left, now!” Pidge snapped, clutching the back of the pilot’s chair as tightly as she could. Lance did as said, jerking the controls, and slamming right into a Galran ship that was heading towards the Red Lion. A quick glance out showed that there were even more Galran’s coming from the west to assist and she let out a small swear. “We need to figure something else out!” She announced.

“What we _need_ is back-up! I may be a pretty impressive one-cat army, but I can’t keep fighting like this,” He barked back at her.

“Could your sonar work at scrambling the ships long enough for a retreat?” She asked.

“If I’m towing a second Lion? No way. I’d have to take too many breaks to keep using the sonar,” He pointed out with a small growl, firing an ice beam and pegging two more approaching ships. She perked up then reached over and started frantically clacking away at the console, leaning heavily over his shoulder and teetering uncomfortable on the pilot chair to reach. “Hey! What are you doing?”

A small screen pulled up, showing the empty pilot’s chair in the Red Lion. “Keith? Are you still there, buddy?” She called, softening her voice to a more inviting inflection.

There was a small scuffling sound on the other end before his little head poked up around the top of the other Lion’s console, indigo eyes red-rimmed from his recent tears. “P-Pidge?” He hiccuped.

“It’s me. Are you hanging in there okay?”

“… I’m s-scared,” He managed to choke out, a new wave of tears starting up. He took another shuddering breath before he cracked and started outright bawling again. “I-I’m s-s-sorry I went a-a-wa-away! I k-knew I wasn’t su-supposed t-t-to but I-I-I re-re-rea-really wanted to f-f-fly!” After that stammered, messy delivery, the rest of what he said was too muddled by sobs and noisy snuffs of his running nose for her to really decipher. It made her heart break at how distressed she was that any anger she’d felt subsided.

She’d just get back at him somehow once he was full-sized again.

“It’s okay, Keith,” She said, softening her tone as best as she could. In her peripheral vision she saw three fighters come at them; Lance managed to take out two but the third rushed past, firing at Red’s shield. Keith let out a startled cry at the sound of the shot connecting. “Keith, bud, I need you to focus me, okay? Don’t worry about the bad guys; we’re gonna take care of them.” A small huff came from Lance.

“He’s lucky the idea of bragging rights is so appealing to me,” He mumbled, tone playful, before chomping one of the wings of the rogue fighter in Blue’s massive jaw.

Pidge turned her attention back to the toddler pilot, trusting Lance and Blue to keep things under control. “I’m not angry about this; I was more worried about you getting hurt. And right now, there’s a bunch of really bad aliens here that want to hurt us all.” She explained.

“They came out of nowhere. I didn’t know what to do,” He breathed out shakily.

“I understand. It can be kinda scary when you’re all on your own and there’s a whole bunch of them, huh?” She asked. He nodded meekly. “But you’re a really brave guy, to come out here on your own and manage to stay away form them as long as you have. Do you think you can pilot a little bit longer for me? Just so we can get someplace safe?”

He blinked before taking a deep breath and his eyes brightening with a resolve. She’d seen that look in his eyes many a time before he jumped full steam in to some seemingly impossible tasks. “I think I can,”

She beamed at him. “’Atta boy. Settle in the seat and follow our lead, okay? Here in a second we’re gonna shake these guys so we can get somewhere safe,” She said encouragingly before turning her attention back to Lance.

“Can I drop the bass?” He asked, waggling his bayard and eyebrows at her.

She laughed at him. “Go ahead and bring it, DJ,” She agreed.

He beamed and did so, shooting out the sonar and making sure to do a long, arching sweep to hit as many ships as possible. They watched the ships crackle and shudder as their systems shut down, proud of it but also well aware that this was only a temporary fix. “Punch it, Lance. Keith, follow us as closely as you can,” She ordered levelly.

Lance spun them around and darted towards the planet Pidge had previously mentioned. She watched Keith as he moved the controls to follow after them as he’d been instructed. His face turned into the usual scowl he wore when he was piloting and hyper-focused on his assignment. It was comforting, she realized, that there were little ticks that shined through despite his age being changed.

…………………………………………………………………………………………

Once they breached the planet’s atmosphere, Pidge searched around for places that were free of life forms with a good amount of coverage so that they could give Keith the serum safely. Luckily enough they found a large entrance to a cave that they could stash Red Lion in while they checked to see if the serum would work, but it would only fit one Lion inside.

“That’s fine. You stay with him to make sure it all goes well and I’ll make sure to keep on guard for anyone coming our way,” Lance said, dropping Blue’s head and opening her mouth while Red Lion walked in to the cave. He had a smile plastered on but it was tight with concern around the edges. “Just… Make sure to keep Red’s communication line up. If something happens I want to be able to give you two the heads up.”

She nodded before grabbing the bag with the serum and Keith’s things then darting out. Red Lion was seated as far back as she could comfortably reach. Upon Pidge’s approach, she dropped her head and opened her mouth, a quiet nudge of gratitude pressing at the back of her mind. She gently patted Red’s lower jaw as she headed up to the cockpit, adjusting the strap on her shoulder. The second she entered, Keith scrambled out of the chair and launched himself at her, clutching her leg and whimpering softly. “Pidge! I’m so sorry!”

She chuckled then reached down and gave his head a gentle pat. “Hey, it’s okay, buddy. I told you I wasn’t mad, didn’t I?” She mused.

“Yeah,” He sniffled, turning his head to look up at her, “but I still feel bad. You trusted me to be good and then I was bad.”

“We’ve all done that kind of stuff before. It’s just part of growing up,” She explained gently before gently pushing his hair out of his face. There didn’t seem to be any injuries or marks on him, but she still felt worried there might be. “Did you get hurt at all? Hit your head on the chair or console or anything?”

He shook his head. “No. Red made sure that I was safe and didn’t get any owies,” He said gently.

“Well, at least she’s good at _something_ ,” She grumbled more to herself. She opted to ignore the angry pressure suddenly present in the back of her mind. She set the backpack down and began rummaging through just as the comms on the Red Lion started blaring. “Oh, what _now_?” She groaned lowly, dragging the backpack over and opening up the window.

Lance appeared on the screen, wearing a grimace and clearly piloting again. “Hey, bad news! Turns out there’s a Galra base on this planet!”

“Are you _kidding_ me?” She gaped.

There was a loud crashing noise followed by Lance seeming to spin in a full 360 circle. “Wish I was! There’s a fleet charging here, but they’ve also got a small ground force coming to get Red! If you haven’t administered that antidote to Keith yet, do it fast! We’re going to need him and Red if we want to make it out of this without sending a distress signal!”

“Okay… Okay, I got it. Just hang in there a little longer, okay?”

“I’m going to give you ten minutes, Pidge; after that, I’m sending a distress signal to the castle and getting the others out here,” He warned before cutting off the feed. She was certain it was more due to him needing to focus on defending himself than being mad with her.

She swiped the backpack up and plopped it on the pilot’s chair, fishing out both the container holding the potential antidote as well as her own bayard. “Should have brought our Paladin armor, in hindsight… I should have anticipated that there was always the chance that the Galra would show up,” She mumbled to herself, shoving her bayard into her shorts pocket. Keith walked around the chair to watch what she was doing. She knelt down and popped the top of the container. “Okay, I need you to drink this, okay?” She asked, gently pressing it into his hands.

“What is it?” He asked, eyeing it suspiciously.

She opened her mouth to answer before she felt a nervous prod at her mind. “Green Paladin,” Red called out. She turned and looked out through Red’s eyes to see the foot soldiers fast approaching them.

She turned back to Keith and settled her hands on his shoulders. “I don’t have time to really explain. There are a lot of really bad guys down there that are coming after us right now. I promise it won’t do anything bad to you. I just need you to trust me, okay?” She asked worriedly, trying to keep her tone from coming out frantic. The last thing she wanted to do was get him upset again after just managing to calm him down.

He looked from the container back to her before he nodded at her. “I trust you, Pidge,” He said.

She smiled and gave his shoulders one more little squeeze. “I trust you, too. You stay here until after you drink that. There’s some stuff you’ll need after you drink that in the bag. I’m gonna go see if I can get those jerks to leave us alone,” She said before standing and making her way out. She pulled her bayard out and clutched it tightly, hearing him start to cough and cry as the antidote started working into his system. It worried her to know that he’d be changing back all alone but she was certain that he would understand once he was back in his proper mind and size. “You have enough energy to keep your shields up until he’s back to normal?” She asked aloud.

“You found a solution to this problem already?” Red asked back, tone incredulous or suspicious she couldn’t tell.

“My Mom used to say that Necessity is the Mother of Invention; you decided to take him out for a starlight stroll despite knowing that he wasn’t really in a state to be piloting. I was kinda forced to rush through finding an antidote that should turn him back to normal,” She said, pausing at the closed mouth of the Lion. She lightly tapped against it. “I just need you to open up wide enough for me to get out, okay? Then you can put up your shield while I try to get those Galra away from us.”

“Thank you, Green Paladin,” She purred softly before opening her mouth and allowing her exit. The minute she was out of range, the shield went up. Pidge gave it a small, reassuring pat before turning to the small squad coming at her.

The fleet sent after them was composed of all sentries with one large Galran commander leading them. The Galran smirked, their gleaming orange eyes watching her in amusement. “My, little Paladin! Didn’t come out here very prepared, did you?” She goaded with a sharp laugh.

“I came as prepared as I need to be to deal with your furry behind!” She scoffed back, activating her bayard and holding it at the ready.

“Feisty… Defeating you will be a delight!” She laughed before raising one arm and then dropping it down hard and fast. At her command, the sentries charged her.

Pidge shot her grappling hook into the ceiling of the cave and sent herself flying into the air. She stuck her leg out and dug her heel into the face plate of the first sentry that got close to her. She ignored the jolt of pain that shot up her leg at the connection as she knocked it backwards and in to another one. Her usual sneakers weren’t really built for this sort of thing and it filled her with appreciation for her Paladin boots. She hadn’t realized just how much the boots helped to keep her from feeling the full force of impact. She dropped to her feet and forced herself to stay upright despite the echoes of pain coming from her left foot. She’d most likely done a little bit of damage to the muscle – nothing serious but enough to make standing or walking uncomfortable – but she made sure to not let it show on her face. She grounded herself on the right foot while stepping back with the left, yanking as hard as she could to dislodge a huge chunk of rock from the ceiling of the cave.

The portion she took out was a decent size and managed to take out two more sentries as well as put the nail in the coffin for the two she’d kicked over before. The remaining four darted around the stone to charge her. She point her bayard upward again and sent herself flying up towards the ceiling, dangling a few feet above where the sentries could reach her with their arms. “Ha! You’re a clever little thing, aren’t you?” The Galran commander laughed.

She blew her bangs out of her face and looked around, trying to figure out another way to take out the remaining sentries. If she could dispatch them and hold out against the commander until Keith was back to normal, she was certain they could finish things up together. Then there was the distinct ‘pew, pew, pew’ of a laser gun being shot in her direction. She squeaked loudly as the bright laser shots whizzed past her and into the stone ceiling of the cave, to the area around where her bayard was stuck. “What are you trying to accomplish? Kill me?” She shouted down at them.

“Of course not,” The Commander chuckled, walking over with her arms crossed behind her back. She looked up with a proud sneer. “A Paladin of Voltron is worth much more alive than dead. Emperor Zarkon is offering a pretty penny for anyone who manages to bring a Paladin or Lion in… With your bounty under my belt, I will finally be able to get off this miserable dirtball and receive the honor I deserve! How kind of you to think of my benefit, Red Paladin of Voltron.”

“You think I’ll go down so easy?” She barked back, beginning to sway herself from side to side, her mind reeling with hope. The Galran having no knowledge of who she was and not seeming to notice the actual color of her bayard could make work to her advantage. If she could get enough momentum going, she might be able to leap around them and make a break for the world outside the cave. It was a gamble with a lot of risk factors – What if there were other Galra waiting outside, just in case of something like that? What if they didn’t actually go after her and instead stayed to collect Red Lion? - but she was feeling as lucky as she was going to get.

Two more shots dislodged her bayard as she made to jump and a third clipped her right between her shoulders, drawing a cry from her as she tumbled toward the ground. She tucked and rolled to the best of her ability, trying to avoid causing any further damage, tumbling and coughing a bit at the dust kicking up. The shot had seared through her shirt and she could feel tiny pebbles sticking to her burnt skin. “Shit,” She breathed out shakily, pushing herself to rest on her arms. Before she could get up completely, a boot slammed down hard on her back, a wheeze escaping her.

“Now, now, we can’t have you running off! What good is the Red Lion without her chosen Paladin?” The Commander asked, her tone morbidly amused. Pidge growled and struggled, lashing out and managing to catch her opponent’s ankle with bayard, sending an electric shock out. The other shouted out and stumbled back, giving Pidge just enough give to loop her bayard around the Galran’s arm and yank her down to the ground as she struggled back to her own feet. “You _impudent_ little _ingrate_!” She bellowed angrily before Pidge sent another electrical charge down through the cord just to drive home her point further.

“Don’t think you’re so high and mighty,” She snarled lowly, retracting her bayard, chest heaving and body sagging with the effort of moving. A click caught her attention and she whirled around to see the four remaining sentries all pointing their guns at her.

“Perhaps you should take your own advice, _child_ ,” The Commander spat back, body still twitching with the residual pain of the static shocks. It didn’t surprise Pidge that she was still reeling; she’d pumped the level up as high as it would go in hopes of completely incapacitating her. She took a hesitant step to the side, trying to figure out her options, when she caught the flicker of motion behind the sentries.

Red’s shield dropped and a loud roar of pure fury echoed through the cave, causing all attention to swivel towards the mecha.

“ _W-What_? Reports said that the Lions cannot move without their Paladins!” The Commander snapped angrily, scrambling on to her feet. While she and her sentries were distracted, Pidge took aim and managed to get her grappling hook wrapped around one of Red’s metal canines.

“The _reports_ were right, but _you_ were wrong. _I’m_ the Green Paladin and the Red Paladin is in there ready to _wreck your collective shit_ ,” She said with a haughty grin, waggling her fingers at the Galra before starting the retract.

The Commander screamed something in Galran and the sentries started trying to frantically shoot, but in a movement almost too fast to be seen, one of Red’s massive front paws swiped out, scooping up all the sentries and slamming them into one of the cave walls. She watched with a massive grin on her lips as she entered Red’s mouth again, the jaws clamping shut once she landed safely. She tucked her bayard back into her pocket and took a deep breath before heading into the cockpit, moving as quickly as she could while being careful of her aching foot.

She was greeted by a mop of inky locks poking up at the top of the pilot’s chair and a low, angry growl echoing inside. “Glad to see my antidote worked,” She said with a laugh – wheezy from the dull ache along her back from where she’d been stomped – as she approached. She rested one hand on the head rest and watched as Red rained down missiles and slammed into anything that looked remotely Galra as they rushed out of the cave. “How are you feeling?” She asked, turning her gaze to the scowling face she’d gotten so used to in their time as teammates.

“ _I’m pissed_ ,” He growled out lowly, slamming his thumb down on a button as two ships came at them. A firey blast erupted from Red’s tail laser and obliterated both ships, sending them crashing to the ground as nothing but ruined, burning scrap. She winced a bit at his tone. He seemed to catch the gesture, as his expression softened just a bit. “Not at you; I’m mad at Red Lion. She and I are going to have a _serious_ conversation about _following orders_ when we get back.” He explained, raising and exaggerating his tone at the last bit.

Pidge could almost hear Red Lion grumbling back in discontent in her own mind. “ _Dude_ , cover up; your hypocrisy is _showing_ ,” She said teasingly as she carefully shifted to sit on the ground beside his chair.

She closed her eyes in pride at the chuckle she managed to drag out of him. She felt a tentative touch of fingers against the side of her face and she cracked one eye to glance up at him. He was still smiling, but it was softer and more concerned. “Are you holding up okay?”

She hummed and closed her eyes again. “I’ve been through worse. See if you can’t finish showing these Galra whose boss so we can get back, though. I’ve got to put my last will and testament together before Shiro completely murders me,”

“I’ll talk to him and makes sure that he doesn’t completely tear you apart. It’s not like you did anything wrong yourself,” He commented.

“I jacked up the door panel for the main deck so he and Allura would be trapped in there until I get back. Honestly, they’re probably _still_ stuck in there,” She said.

He whistled quietly. “Impressive. I knew there was a reason you were my most favorite,” He said, his tone light and playful but also seeming to beg of something else.

Her chest filled with a bit of warmth at the statement. “Well, I’m glad cause you’re my favorite too,” She repeated, knowing there was more to the omission than there had been before but not finding it in her to get worked up over it. She could tell this was his way of saying her feelings were mutual. They could talk more about the specifics once she was done healing, but she was grateful that something more had been accomplished through this whole incident.


End file.
